Dictionary of


Art  &  Artist




 

Maria Alquilar

 

Maria Alquilar is a Brooklyn, NY-based American artist, born on May 25, 1938.
Her imagery combines iconography of primitive cultures to depict the paths to enlightenment. Like many primitive, outsider painters, Alquilar began her work after the sudden death of her husband that resulted in the fracture of a strong family structure.
In 2004, she was commissioned by Livermore, California to create a mural for the city's new public library. When the $40,000 mural was unveiled in October 2004, the names of prominent intellectuals, such as Albert Einstein, were misspelled. She initially refused to fix the mural, citing artistic license. However, she quietly returned to correct the misspellings the following summer, working under the hot California sun for three days. The city paid her an extra $6000, plus travel expenses.